


Under Pressure

by LoneAmidala



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: BB-8 is a corgi with a bubble butt, Emotional Abuse, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Finnpoe - Freeform, High School AU, Hint of BenArmi, Living under the same roof as your enemy, M/M, Prep School AU, Reylo - Freeform, Reylo Modern AU, So we have some soft Reylux, They All Gay, idk if this will be rated M in the future, is that even a trope, make finn and poe gay you cowards, no graphic description of physical abuse, pot use, sequel trilogy gang au, they study in a castle, touch craving virgins, touch starved Reylo, will add more with progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-10-11 07:19:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17442422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoneAmidala/pseuds/LoneAmidala
Summary: Despite being in the same circle of friends while attending their Senior Year at Hanna Prep, Rey and Ben highly dislike each other. Things change when Ben takes matters into his own hands after he sees Rey being beaten by her step father. The last thing Rey expected was to live with the man who she thought hated her very existence. But then maybe he was only doing this to avoid his very complicated relationship with his father.





	1. Being Irresponsible

**Author's Note:**

> The High School Reylo AU no one asked for is here!
> 
> While the summary I posted highly revolves around Reylo, other elements of this story will also include the rest of the sequel trilogy gang. This includes FinnPoe and awkward, mild BenArmie.
> 
> Please mind my tags and warnings. I’ll be sure to add more when needed as the story progresses. As early as now, however, I want you guys to know that I don’t write explicit physical abuse.
> 
> This story focuses on inner demons, manifestations of emotional abuse, and how different people learn to live above them. Overall, it’s inspired by Queen and David Bowie’s hit, Under Pressure.
> 
> Hope you’ll enjoy!

She was seething. Everyone in the cafeteria of Hanna Prep turned to see the fury in her eyes as tomato sauce dripped down from her hair, to her forehead, to her white blouse. A murmur of  _ oohs  _ filled the room, as Rey positioned herself in the middle of one of the isles.

 

“ _ Solo! _ ”

 

Ben Organa-Solo calmly turned to face her, just a few feet away from where she was standing. No emotion crossed his face as he held his tray and looked at the petite woman who was now drenched in his lunch.

 

A smirk slowly built on his lips.

 

“It looks like you’ve made a mess of yourself,” he said as he eyed her blouse.

 

“You pompous fuck! You did this on purpose!”

 

He rolled his eyes. “Blame Hux. He’s the one that bumped my elbow.”

 

Armitage Hux stood behind Ben. Apparently, the sight of her made him snicker. She knew he was getting a kick out of this. Hux was rarely kind to her and it was just like him to pull this off. Sometimes she wondered why they were even in the same circle of friends.

 

“You think this is funny,  _ Armie _ ?”

 

Hux quickly ran a hand through his hair, failing to hide his grin. But as he was about to speak, something soft and hot was suddenly splattered on his face. He staggered backwards from the force of it, dropping the can of soda he was holding in the other hand.

 

“You bitch!”

 

“I’m sick and tired of you Armie! Get the fuck away –”

 

But Rey never got to finish her sentence as Ben hurled the plate of the remainder of his spaghetti to Rey’s stomach. She took a step back as the plate hit her, sending out a little  _ oof _ . Just as the circumstances of the uncommon fight couldn’t have gotten any worse, a random student just  _ had  _ to yell,

 

“ _ Foodfight _ !” 

 

The cafeteria erupted into a frenzy of screams and battle cries as vegetables, mashed potatoes, chicken, and spaghetti were starting to fly through the air. Students from the four corners of the room started to frantically cover themselves while simultaneously attack one another. 

 

“Rey, look what you’ve done!” 

 

Ben’s voice boomed. But as soon as he let those words go, the air was knocked out of his stomach as Rey tackled him to the ground. He landed on his back and desperately tried to keep her claws away from scratching his face, so he grasped both her wrists. Rey straddled him; her teeth were bared, a snarl was evident behind the mess of tomato sauce on her face. Students around them were too busy to notice their struggle, despite fighting like a couple of rabid animals.

 

“You’ve done nothing but made my life a living hell,” she screeched.

 

Ben’s face contorted from the sound of it. “I’m not the one trying to scratch your eyes out, you freak!”

 

Unfortunately, it was then that Hux threw a handful of mashed potatoes at Rey’s face as a clear comeback, which left her blinded and unsteady. Ben saw this as the opportunity to flip them over, bounding her wrists above her head with only the use of his left hand. Finding a glass of water with his right, he poured the drink over her face.

 

“Will you calm down,” he started. “Stop struggling and I’ll let you go!”

 

But Rey was frantic. She was kicking air, trying to get Ben’s larger form off of her. How was she expected to calm down when she was trapped like that? Her instincts took over. She gave it everything her tiny frame could and kicked Ben in his family jewels. He had no choice but to let go of her wrists and topple over, crying out in pain. 

 

Rey crawled to the nearest table and reached out to grab a tray. Her hands grasped the metal and its contents spilled on the floor. She raised the tray over Ben’s head and was ready to strike when suddenly,

 

“ _ EVERYBODY STOP! _ ”

 

Principal Blackwood’s voice echoed throughout the halls and every student dropped to their knees, cowering in fear of the unmerciful figure. His towering form stood by the cafeteria’s entrance, both arms held the double Oak doors open. The cafeteria was suddenly quiet, with only the sound of food squishing beneath his feet, as he made his way towards Rey and Ben.

 

“Doe, Solo. You know the drill,” he said as he stopped in front of them. Ben was still clutching his manhood and Rey was slowly setting the tray by her side. “Don’t even think about arguing on the way to my office.”

 

The two glared at each other, seemingly ready to resume their fight. 

 

“I mean it,” their principal bellowed even louder. Ben and Rey cringed. “And as for the rest of you, start cleaning yourselves up. Don’t think I’ll allow you to fleet to your homes after this debauchery. Return to your classes!”

 

As moans and complaints started to fill the room, Principal Blackwood turned his back and darted towards the direction from where he came from.

 

“Today, misfits!” 

 

Ben and Rey quickly got on their feet and followed, too ashamed to look their schoolmates in the eye. They very well knew what they were in for.

* * *

 

Hanna City was like any other city on the westside of Chandrilla. Low rise buildings and quiet neighborhoods were scattered around, filled with the rich and mighty. The only difference was that the air was colder since the city was situated off the coast. A hillside divided the neighborhoods from the beach, and on top of that hillside, stood Hanna Prep. It was a magnificent castle that was converted into a private school.

 

For Rey, it was a sunny paradise. After being thrown from family to family in chilly Hoth growing up, she was happy to finally settle down somewhere warm and near the beach, even when it came at a very steep price…

 

Her day started out pleasantly. Plutt was a town away fetching the remains of a crashed aircraft and she was able to have a quiet breakfast all to herself, with minimal number of dishes to wash right after. She lived beside the Hanna City junkyard, naturally. Unkar Plutt was the proprietor and Rey’s current legal guardian. She’s had better, more gentle guardians in the past. But it never really worked out.

 

Rey was a free spirit, a wanderer. It was an understatement to say that she was a handful to the many couples who wished to adopt her in the past. That was why no one ever did. That was until Unkar Plutt discovered her skill in working with complex machineries, as well as her physical strength. Most potential guardians initially saw Rey as meek and tamed, only to be sorely disappointed when Rey’s true self would be revealed soon after. But Plutt saw right through her facade, her desperate attempt at looking obedient and submissive in the hopes of finding a family. He saw her for what she was and decided to exploit it, and he knew he was capable of making Rey bend to his wishes of working at the yard.

 

In return for being the only government subsidized junkyard in Hanna City, Plutt’s dependents were granted full scholarships to Hanna Prep by the government. Scholarship aside, she still felt like she was working for her education. Her meal privileges were dictated by her attendance with working at the yard.

 

Rey stood in front of a mirror in the girl’s restroom nearest the principal’s office. She took a deep breath as she accepted that the potential of having a nice, quiet day was quickly fading. She didn’t bother wetting her blouse, only her face to get the muck of sauce and potatoes off of her. Her hair was a slick mess and she didn’t bother with it either. She knew she looked just as bad as Ben, but silently wished he looked worse. She’d like to think she got at least a couple of scratches on his face. A wicked grin appeared on her lips when she remembered the sensation of kicking him in the nuts. 

 

She knew deep inside her that she wasn't an evil person. But she also knew that she disliked Ben Organa-Solo with a passion, and generally everyone who made her life harder than it already was. Her relationship with Ben was complicated from the start. He disliked her just as much for reasons she felt could never understand. She tells herself it’s because she didn’t belong in the prep school. She has never felt accepted by anyone else other than her closest friends. She knew the student body would never accept her, how could they? She was a  _ foster freak _ with no cent to her name, adopted by one of the slimiest men in the area.

 

_ Knock, knock! _

 

“Rey? Blackwood’s ready for you, sweetie.” Bazine, the principal’s secretary, said through the door of the restroom.

 

After taking one last big breath, Rey turned on her heels and marched to the door.

* * *

 

 

“Enough is enough, Senator Solo –”

 

“–Organa, please.”

 

“ _ Senator Organa-Solo _ ,” Blackwood grunted. “We cannot keep accepting donations to keep your son’s predicaments off his records.”

 

“Well, this time I’m not offering one. What is his punishment?”

 

“Mom! You can’t mean that,” Ben said, shocked. His mother turned to him with an ingenuine soft smile on her face, crazy in her eyes.

 

Rey and Ben were on the opposite ends of a couch behind Leia Organa. Principal Blackwood’s office was a small pentagon, which Rey always found to be a peculiar shape for a school office. All the interiors matched the wooden, rustic design of the castle. His desk was situated right at the middle, with a large bookcase beside an opened window. Rey figured he liked the dramatic effect that his heavy curtains had, as it always flew with the wind. 

 

“I certainly do. Your father and I are tired of bailing you out of trouble, Benjamin. You’re only in high school. Who knows what you’ll put us through when you get to university,” Leia said with anger slowly rising.

 

Rey was looking at her shoes when she heard Ben mumble, 

 

“Always assuming the worst, both of you…” 

 

Leia’s eyes widened with anger ready to burst. But Rey knew she wasn’t one to lose her poise over her son’s snarky comments. She’s known this for a while, since she’s always had the pleasure of being in her presence every time she and Ben would get into trouble, which was happening more often.

 

Leia huffed out impatiently, and returned to face the principal.

 

“What is my son’s punishment, Mr. Blackwood?” Leia calmly repeated.

 

Principal Blackwood’s face was stern, eyebrows furrowed in deep thought, looking at both students back and forth.

 

“I don’t expect these two misfits to have the knowledge of cleaning oil and muck off of the walls of a hundred-year-old castle,” 

 

“If I may,” Rey stood and interrupted. “We wouldn’t be in this situation of Hux didn’t harass me with his meal.”

 

At this, Ben chuckled, which earned him a glare from each person in the office with him.

 

“Then he will receive an equal punishment,” Blackwood strongly stated. “But the matter at hand is the frequency of your assaults on each other. We cannot continue to have this, Miss Doe, Mister Solo. I will not tolerate your acts of violence any longer.”

 

With that, Rey sat back down and went back to staring at her feet. Principal Blackwood pressed a tiny red button by the side of his desk, calling out to his assistant.

 

“Bazine, has Mr. Plutt arrived?”

 

“ _ No, Sir. I’m afraid the guards at the gate haven’t informed me of his arrival yet.” _

 

He let out a heavy sigh as Blackwood thanked his assistant. Rey closed her eyes, silently thanking her maker that Plutt was still out of town.

 

A beat passed and Blackwood returned to speak to Leia.

 

“I’ve made my decision. I don’t believe any punishment that would force these two to work together would generate favorable results… And we’ve already tried that in the past. Joint cafeteria duties, coastal cleanups, library work, et. cetera,”

 

Rey fought back the need to roll her eyes. Each of those punishments ended up in disaster. Being forced to work and talk with Ben led to awkwardness, which eventually led to even more frustrations between the two teenagers.

 

“I’m left with no choice. You two are banned from participating in this year’s Winter Formal.”

 

Both students immediately shot up from their seats.

 

“What?!”

 

“You can’t be serious!”

 

“I’m serious as the thousand-credit fine needed to pay for the damages you both have inflicted on the school cafeteria, Mr. Solo,” the principal quickly and forcefully replied as he, too, stood up. 

 

Rey and Ben looked at each other, and the hellraising started once more. Ben was the first to speak.

 

“This is all your doing! If you only kept your temper at bay–”

 

“You’re one to talk about keeping temper under control, Solo,”

 

They knew it was pointless in arguing with their principal. After years of being sent to his office for similar reasons, they knew better than to attack his decisions, no matter how much the Winter Ball meant to the two seniors.

 

“What about Hux?” Rey quipped, eyebrows knitted together as she crossed her arms.

 

“He, too, will be banned from attending the ball. I’ll have a chat with him after I hire a cleaning crew.”

 

Rey was contented with his answer.

 

_ At least he gets punished too... _

 

She felt Principal Blackwood running out of patience. And she felt Ben’s anger radiate off of him in waves. The Winter Formal was a festive event for seniors. It was a celebration of finishing at one of the most prestigious schools in the country. Rey was actually looking forward to it. She was able to save enough tips from the junkyard to buy a dress. 

 

“You’re both dismissed. Head back to your class; Ms. Wardwell already knows you’re here.”

 

Turning to Leia, he continued,

 

“Senator, I hope we don’t see each other anytime soon.”

 

“Likewise, Principal Blackwood.” Leia grabbed her purse and started to escort the two teens out of the office. But before she exited herself, she turned back and said to the principal, 

 

“Please give my regards to Thomas. I do miss him working as my chief of staff.”

* * *

 

 

Rey was at her locker when Ben appeared at the end of the hall with his mother. Leia Organa was wearing an elegant grey suit that complimented her figure. Despite wearing pumps, her son towered over her by almost a foot. Rey was retrieving her school vest in the hopes of wearing it to cover up the food stains on her blouse. But in the middle of being conflicted on whether or not she was going to tarnish her vest, the senator suddenly called her attention.

 

“Oh, Rey! Please give my best to your father. It was nice to see you, dear,” she said, right hand raised.

 

“Mom, Rey doesn’t have a father. Plutt’s just her guard dog,” Ben uttered. 

 

Although Rey was more than a couple of meters away, she could hear Ben clearly. She couldn’t have cared less about what Ben or her peers thought about Plutt, but the disgust rolling off of his tongue was clear. And it was the perfect invitation for Rey’s anger to resurface. She shoved her grey vest back in her locker and quickly made her way towards the two. It took everything out of her to refrain from shooting Ben a death glare.

 

“I’m sorry that you had to come all the way here, Madam Senator,” Rey began. “Maybe one day you’ll come here for some actual good news about Benny-Boo, instead of heart wrenching disappointments.”

 

“Watch your tongue, freak!”

 

“Benjamin!”

 

The two were back at it again. They glared at each other as if their stares could shoot fire right at the other. Leia placed her head in her hands, waiting for their argument to burst into an inextinguishable flame. But it never came.

 

Rey released the puff of air she was holding in and quietly let her guard down. She looked away from Ben and said, 

 

“No, Senator Organa, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make this any worse.”

 

Leia sighed, releasing her head. She looked at her son and silently pleaded with her eyes for him to yield. And he did, without looking back at his mother.

 

“Kids, let’s just get through this term without any more incidents. I spoke with Blackwood when you two left the room,”

 

Rey and Ben faced the senator with confused looks.

 

“Your principal has agreed to lift his punishment of banning you two from the ball  _ if _ you both finish the term with no more incidents of any kind.”

 

Rey was slack jawed. In all the time their principal had inflicted his punishments, he never once retracted any of them for any reason. He was a hardass. Everyone knew that. There must have been a catch.

 

When Leia didn’t receive any sort of verbal response, she decided to continue.

 

“He believes that this would be the sort of motivation you two need in hopefully forming some sort of… decent relationship with one another.”

 

The two teens looked at each other in disgust and Rey took a step back.

 

_ Not gonna happen. _

 

“But,” the senator continued. “He gave the both of you a month’s worth of detention everyday after school.”

 

_ There it was. _

 

Rey and Ben were used to getting detention at this point. Although, this highly inconvenienced Rey. She started picking up more hours at the junkyard to earn more tips for fixing cars and motorcycles. Plutt wasn’t going to be happy about her arriving late. She  _ was _ their only capable mechanic. 

 

“Mom, I really need to make it to Ms. Wardwell’s class.” Ben’s voice brought Rey back to reality. “Can we continue this at home?”

 

Leia turned to her son with a smile on her face. “Yes, dear, you bet your butt that your father will have a word with you.” Her eyes narrowed at her son as she finished her sentence. 

 

“And speaking of Han, Rey, he’d very much love it if you could come by and help him with his new project. He retrieved his old Falcon about a month ago and the damned thing just refuses to start–”

 

Ben groaned and walked away from the two women towards opposite end of the hall. He fisted both his hands in his pockets as he made the turn to Ms. Wardwell’s classroom.

 

The senator’s eyes didn’t leave her son until he was out of sight. She released a heavy sigh and faced Rey with a soft smile planted on her face. Her right hand slowly reached and rested on her shoulder. 

 

“I better be going back to the governor’s mansion, dear. Please do drop by when you can. Despite the circumstance, it was lovely to see you again, Rey.”

 

Rey tried to return a smile, but it ended up looking like a grimace. “Take care, Senator Organa,” she said politely. “I’ll be sure to give old Han a helping hand soon.”

 

She suddenly couldn’t look the woman in the eye. “I really am sorry for the mess.”

 

“You two will figure this out,” she replied as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind Rey’s ear. 

 

Rey was always so bewildered with Ben’s mother. She was both the fiercest but kindest woman she knew. Her gentle, motherly gestures towards Rey captivated her, although she knew she didn’t deserve any of it. After all, she was the reason why her son kept getting sent to the principal’s office. She was the reason why the senator had to travel miles from the governor’s mansion to the school on a hot, sunny day. It was only a matter of time before she would run out of patience with Rey, just like everyone else did. 

 

_ Did Ben even appreciate his mother? _

 

Before Rey could process her jealousy over Ben’s family, Leia turned and walked towards the exit of the castle.

 

Afraid of being scolded by the only professor she got along with, she made her way towards her class and thought about why her fight with Ben escalated so quickly. They weren’t always this hostile to each other, but they were never really good friends to begin with. 

 

Being his father’s helping hand when it came to his cars and aircrafts didn’t help her chances. Han met Rey during her sophomore year at Hanna Prep. By that time, she had worked at Plutt’s for over two years and became a well known mechanic. Han needed an extra set of hands and thought Rey had both the brains and experience for his projects. He would pay her an allowance, despite her protests of saying it was already an honor to work with the famous Captain Solo. 

 

Besides having a working relationship with his father, they were also connected through peers. They were in the same circle: her, Ben, and Armie, joined by Finn, Kaydel, and Rose. Ben got along just fine with all of them, except for Rey, despite being older. She never really bothered to figure out why and merely accepted that not everyone was meant to be her friend. But now… 

 

To her, Ben Solo wasn’t a complete monster. He was just incredibly untolerable. He acted as though he was a gift sent from the gods themselves. He was stubborn, but so was she. Each of them have never backed down from a fight with one another.  Their tempters matched each other too. Rey also knew that he enjoys it when girls and boys fawn over him, but he never really dated any of them. She knew that he was held back a year for being a misfit, something about his father trying to send him away. Apparently, it didn’t turn out so well because a year after disappearing from Hanna Prep, he came back.

 

She never dared ask Han about personal matters, especially about Ben.

 

_ He wasn’t completely unattractive either… _

 

She rolled her eyes at that thought. While she knew his features wasn’t common for conventionally handsome men, he was still attractive. He was tall, maybe a little over a foot taller than her. He had broad shoulders and a wide chest. She was pretty sure his smirk drove half the population of the castle nuts and the marks dotted across his face just made him even more interesting–

 

_ Stop! _

 

Disgust was suddenly cemented on her face. She needed to get her head out of the gutter if she wanted to survive a month’s worth of detention while trying to decode the enigma that was Ben Solo.


	2. Being Irresponsible Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little slow, I’m not going to lie. But I felt that this was needed to establish the AU I’ve built for this story. Its main focus is Rey and where she stood with her peers and with Plutt.
> 
> Writing after this chapter felt lighter, so expect more dialogue and interactions after this. I’ll try to keep the inner monologues to a minimum.
> 
> Finally, warnings: drug use but not abuse.

“I can’t believe you and Ben got into a fight again,”

 

Finn was Rey’s best friend, mainly because they were both orphans and lived in the same orphanage in the city of Hoth as children. By some miracle, they ended up settling in Hanna City after years of being separated. 

 

They were walking along the gardens in the middle of the school, making their way towards the library for free period.

 

“I do,” Rey said. “It was only a matter of time until–”

 

“–the both of you get expelled for bad behavior?”

 

The pair stopped walking at this point. Rey was clutching her books with both arms, her backpack was slung around her right shoulder. She knew this wasn’t going to be a pleasant argument. She could tell from the crease between Finn’s brows and the firmness of his jaw. Still, she tried to play it off like any other conversation.

 

“ _ Pffft _ . Please, like that’s ever going to happen to the senator’s son,” said Rey, a little too dramatically. “And besides, we only got a month’s worth of detention–“

 

“You’re banned from  _ the _ event of our high school lives, Rey.”

 

“It’s not that bad!”

 

Finn ignored her and plopped himself beside an old tree in the middle of the garden. He huffed as he went down; his eyes roamed the area until he was looking directly at Rey. Sophomores were lounging around the area since it was their recess, but no one was seated by the tree’s roots. He patted the patch of grass in front of him and set his backpack down and off of his shoulders.

 

Rey rolled her eyes at the gesture and felt goosebumps creeping up her neck. She wasn’t in the mood for a sermon.

 

“Come on,  _ play doh,  _ I won’t bite,” said Finn, playfully. He flashed his wide grin to persuade his best friend.

 

“You know that I never appreciated that pet name, right? We only have a few minutes before the bell rings.”

 

The man just continued his smile and didn’t move from his place. He was never one to take no for an answer.

 

Rey gave up with a dramatic grunt and sat next to him, falling ungracefully on the patches of grass and roots of the tree.

 

“Rey… you can’t keep relying on that. You need to start getting your act together.”

 

It was just like Finn to be this concerned. They always looked out for one another, even when the other was too stubborn to ask for help. His tone was gentle, but stern.

 

“You’re one to talk,” Rey playfully hissed. “Aren’t you still living in that–”

 

“This isn’t about me,  _ doh _ ,” Finn interrupted. “This is about making sure you make it through high school so you can get into Chandrilla University. Once you’re eighteen, you’re free of that slime ball, Plutt. Where will you go if you give them a reason to not accept you?”

 

That scared Rey to her core. Being 17 meant she still belonged to Plutt. She was counting down the days until her 18th birthday, until the day she can finally go off to college without that disgusting man breathing down her neck.

 

“I… I know, Finn. I was being irresponsible,”

 

“We’re all irresponsible,” he said, followed by a chuckle. “Sometimes we gotta step back and look at the damage we’ve done, the mess we’ve made, and start thinking of how it’ll affect our future.”

 

Rey smiled. She silently felt even more thankful to have Finn in her life. Stubborn as they come, she’s never had anyone else to look after; she’s never had anyone else that truly cared.

 

“Look,” Rey started sheepishly. “You’re right. I’ll… I’ll get a grip.”

 

She pondered on her next words carefully, too afraid to make a commitment she couldn’t see through. But if it meant that she could maybe attend the formal with her friends, then maybe it was worth a shot.

 

“I’ll talk to Ben,” she stated flatly.

 

Finn’s eyes widened a little. “About what?”

 

“About getting along, showing Blackwood that we don’t always have this primal instinct of ripping out each other’s throats–“

 

“–that was actually just  _ you _ doing that earlier–”

 

“–yes, yes, I’m aware, Finn.” Rey sighed.

 

She had such a short temper. How was she supposed to manage to be civil with one of the most infuriating man she knew?

 

Finn, on the other hand, just chuckled at Rey’s frustrations.

 

“ _ Doh _ , you guys can make this work. Just… try to find some common ground with the man, something the both of you can relate to on an emotional level.”

 

“Common ground? What in fresh hell can a desert rat and a pompous prince have anything in common?”

 

“ _ You can start with your hatred for one another.” _

 

Finn and Rey quickly turned to find the source of the voice that popped their little private bubble.

 

“Armie, I thought I told you to leave me the fuck alone,”

 

“Easy, little desert ra–err–Rey.”

 

His accent was thick behind the smirk he was wearing. Hux was still in his lunch stained uniform, as was Finn and Rey, with his sling bag hung on his left shoulder. His right hand was pulling on his ginger hair while his face was contorted in what seemed to be a very awkward smile. He stood beside the tree Rey and Finn were sitting on.

 

“Hux! You bastard. Look what you got Rey and Ben into,” Finn waved his hands towards Rey when he spoke. “You’ve really fucked up this time, mate.”

 

“I honestly didn’t mean to drench you in sauce. It was an unfortunate accident,” Hux addressed Rey, not bothering to notice Finn’s theatrics. “But it was a funny sight.”

 

“What do you want, Armie?” Rey said pointedly at the tall man blocking their sunlight.

 

“Kaydel and Rose are by the rocks,” he nudged his head towards the direction of the coast. “We wanted to see if you guys were skipping free period.”

 

Rey regarded Hux for a moment before she answered him. She was still angry, but she knew it was her fault for losing her temper. Hers and Bens. Although she and Hux rarely got along, he was tolerable compared to Ben. 

 

They’ve never had a meaningful conversation, though.  _ Heck _ , she doesn’t even know whether or not she could call him a friend. But Finn took a liking to him, so did Rose, and soon Kaydel. 

 

“Why? Do you have pot in that messenger bag of yours?” Rey finally replied.

 

“If I did, can we call a truce?”

 

Rey and Finn’s ears perked up.

* * *

 

It was a little after two in the afternoon when Hux, Finn, and Rey arrived by the coast. They had an hour and a half left of free period before they had to return to the castle and attend their last two classes for their Monday. 

 

Their little gang had this secret space by the rocks of the beach, hidden inside a dark cave of the cliff that held the castle up. As the trio entered the cave, Rey was careful not to trip on the rock formations and sand in the dark. The cave was a short tunnel, that was around 6 meters wide, that lead to a wider clearing. The closer they got to the clearing, the more they could hear Rose and Kaydel’s laughter accompanied by music. 

 

“Apparently they’ve started without us,” Hux said playfully. “Will you two ever get tired of 80’s music?”

 

Kaydel and Rose were dancing in the middle of the small clearing to a funky beat. A couple of lanterns were situated around the cave and it illuminated the many stalactites above the gang. 

 

The newly arrived trio dropped their bags in a pile and sat on the rocks in front of the mellowed out women.

 

“David Bowie was a legend.” Rose said as she danced towards Hux, a blunt in between her fingers. “You don’t get to judge our choices until you’ve accepted that.”

 

Hux smirked and took the blunt from the little woman. He took a long drag before handing it to Finn. However, before Finn could even take a drag himself, Hux started coughing out smoke. He got to his feet, walked around in a circle, and pumped his chest with a closed fist to breathe properly.

 

“Jeez, Armie,” Kaydel said as she eyed him with an amused expression on her face. “I thought you’d be used to your own shit by now.”

 

Hux was too preoccupied to reply to Kaydel’s quip. Finn started to position the blunt between his lips when Rey stopped him with a hand on his raised bicep. 

 

“Whatever happened to trying to be more responsible?” Rey asked with a raised brow and a smug expression plastered on her face. Finn just rolled her eyes at her.

 

“This has nothing to do with that,  _ doh _ , and you know it.”

 

“Yeah, as if getting caught smoking pot in a cave won’t get us  _ all _ expelled,” Rey said sarcastically.

 

Kaydel stood up and sat in between Finn and Rey. “This isn’t the time to be responsible, guys.” She took the blunt and took a drag herself. “This is the time to relax and be teenagers.”

 

“There we go!” Finn exclaimed. “She has a point.”

 

“Her point wasn’t exactly clear–”

 

“We’re not going to get caught, Rey. No one knows we’re here. Besides, Seniors are allowed to skip study period.” 

 

That was the end of that conversation. Rey just rolled her eyes as Finn was about to take a hit.

 

“Wait,” Rose shouted. “Rey and Ben should really be the ones to finish that one. I can roll us up a new one.”

 

Finn shot Rose a death glare for stopping him taking a hit for the third time in a row. Rey chuckled at the sight.

 

“Ben?” Rey asked. “Ben isn’t even here.”

 

_ “Sorry to disappoint you.” _

 

Rey internally groaned. 

 

She arched her head a little to the right and noticed Ben entering the clearing. She huffed out a small breath and reached for the blunt in Finn’s hand. Finn closed his eyes and shut his mouth in frustration and let the blunt go.

 

Ben dropped his bag by the gang’s pile and carefully sat himself beside Rose’s head. She was laid on the rock with her eyes closed and hummed along to the tune of the song playing from her cellphone. 

 

Rey took a quick hit, afraid of being too out of it during her last two classes and passed it to the massive man in front of her. The rest of their friends eyed their actions carefully. It was clear that they were expecting the two to start another argument.

 

But it never came.

 

Ben took the blunt from Rey and took a long drag without taking his eyes off of hers.

 

“You can finish that one,” Rey said to him. Ben only raised his brows in reply.

 

The others looked at each other awkwardly. Finn made pointed stares at Armie towards his messenger bag so he could start rolling a new joint.

 

Armie glared at him and rolled his eyes at the silent command. “One of these days, we’re gonna have to invest in a bong.”

 

Smoking pot wasn’t illegal in Chandrilla. But a cave full of underaged teenagers, besides Ben and Armie, would certainly land everyone in trouble. 

 

And yet, this is one irresponsible activity that Rey and the gang couldn’t let go.

 

None of them were into drugs to a point of addiction. Rey suspected that it was their mutual escape from the perfect life they were all expected to lead.

 

Ben is the son of Senator Organa-Solo and Captain Solo, grandson to famous war hero, Padme Amidala. Armitage is the son of General Brendol Hux, who serves alongside Han in the air force. Kaydel is the heiress of Connix Enterprises, a renewable energy enterprise worth billions. Her grandmother, Dame Deborah  Reynolds is keen on grooming Kaydel to be her successor once she graduates Hanna Prep. Rosaline Tico is the sister of renowned agricultural scientist, Page Tico. Her research and discoveries have helped Chandrilla develop a sustainable system in its agricultural sector, providing a strong and fruitful economy for decades to come. Rose was expected to do the same alongside her sister one day.

 

And then there was Finn and Rey. 

 

Finn never had an easy life. He was found wandering aimlessly around the Jakku Desert nearby a town where Rey was abandoned as a baby. They were both shipped to Hoth on the same year.

 

Similar to Rey, he bounced from one foster home to another. His stressful life came to a halt when he was adopted by the Lyons, music producers to the stars. 

 

Sometimes Rey wonders how she ended up in a circle of princes and princesses. Surely, she was a speck of nothing in contrast to her friends. But they were exactly that. Friends. They never made her feel less of what she was. 

 

She liked to believe they knew her, despite keeping her demons at bay.

 

An hour passed by as the group was starting to feel the effects of their joint. Each of them started to mellow out and do their own thing: Hux was mesmerized by the illuminated stalactites above them, Rose was looking for another song on her playlist, Finn was going through his homework with Kaydel, and Ben was reading a book while eating from a small bag of chips.

 

Rey was a paranoid mess. She fidgeted with the hem of her skirt and then with her thumbs. She wasn’t even aware that her knee was bouncing up and down so fast. 

 

She wasn’t afraid of getting caught smoking pot; she was afraid of going home. It was like an unavoidable explosion waiting to happen and she knew that she was going to be a casualty. No doubt that Plutt would have received a call or a message about her cafeteria fiasco with Ben. 

 

Would she be able to eat dinner tonight? Should she sneak a salad in her backpack just in case? She still had a bag of biscuits under her pillow... but didn’t she already finish that? What if–

 

“Will you stop that incessant noise with your foot? It’s driving me crazy!”

 

Ben’s voiced boomed around the cave. The other’s snapped out of their daze and turned their attention to Rey. They waited for her to retaliate and insult the man in front of her, but she didn’t. 

 

Instead, her wide eyes settled on the ground. Her foot stopped shaking and her knee stopped bouncing as she placed her hands on her lap.

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

 

Ben was taken aback. Rey was sure that he wondered why she didn’t start another one of their arguments. 

 

She peeked at Finn from the corner of her eye and saw him raise a thumbs up in her direction. The corners of Rey’s mouth tugged into a small smile. Finn was trying to encourage her to do the right thing. 

 

“Ben,” Rey managed to croak. “I think we should try to be civil with each other… so we can go to the dance?”

 

Her intentions of coming off strong and intimidating fell flat. She hoped to sound stern and grounded. Instead, her statement came off as a meek question. 

 

Ben placed his now empty bag of chips beside him and eyed Rey warily. She tried to give him as smile, but it was uneven and awkward. 

 

“Yeah, no shit.” Ben replied as he rolled his eyes.

 

_ What an infuriating pompous piece of– _

 

“Easy,” hissed Finn.

 

Rey took a deep breath and kept her anger at bay.

 

“Solo, if we’re going to have a shot at going to that dance–”

 

“–then we have to be civil. Yeah, I get it.”

 

“Yes, but, we’re going to have to make an effort to–”

 

“–I said I agree to being civil, Rey. What more does your controlling ass want?”

 

“I want you to stop talking over me, that’s what!”

 

Rey and Ben were on their feet, ready to go head to head with each other. Rey’s fists were balled up by her sides while Ben drew his sleeves up his arm. They were around a  feet apart when Kaydel walked over and tried to keep them apart.

 

“Can you two not fight while the rest of us are experiencing an amazing high?” She pleaded. “Hux, where did you get this shit?”

 

Armie jogged towards Ben and pulled him back to take a seat on the rock while Kaydel took Rey’s hands into hers. 

 

“My father’s on a trip with his wife. I ransacked his room full of confiscated contrabands.”

 

“Being the son of the General has its perks, huh?” Kaydel sweetly asked.

 

Armie just shrugged in return and kept his eyes on Ben.

 

The group fell in an awkward silence before Rose played a slow tune, one where Kaydel decided to take Rey out to dance to in the middle of the clearing to calm her nerves. And it worked. Rey wasn’t a ball of nerves anymore as she was twirled around by Kaydel.

 

Rey thought that Kaydel was a beautiful girl. Her alluring smile made Rey weak in the knees. She had long, dark blonde hair that flowed all the way down to her hips. Despite Kay having everything a teenage girl would want, Rey would sometimes catch hints of sorrow behind Kaydel’s soft eyes. 

 

It made her wonder if her perfect friends carry around demons of their own, something Rey knew she wouldn’t fathom coming from secure, protected, and loved people.

 

As the next song progressed, the gang started to pack up their belongings to head back to the castle. Rey was about to reach for her bag on the sandy floor when Ben beat her to it. She looked up at him and questioned his action. 

 

Ben gently handed her pack to her and said, “I’m sorry. I’ll try to shut up every now and then.”

 

He looked sheepish and Rey appreciated that. Maybe it was the weed, but she couldn’t stop herself when she said,

 

“I don’t understand what I did to make you hate me so much.”

 

Ben looked as if he was caught off guard with her words. A range of emotions crossed his face one by one, from shock to anger to confusion, until it finally settled on understanding.

 

“I don’t hate you.”

 

She felt that his words were scarce to what he truly wanted to tell her, that maybe there was more. She wished he would tell her more. She needed him to tell her more. So she tried to challenge him.

 

“That’s hard to believe, Solo.”

 

He gave her a  _ hmph _ and quickly turned his back to her, which ended their short conversation. Rey huffed in frustration as she made her way out of the cave.

* * *

 

It was past six-thirty in the evening when Rey made it to the gate of the junkyard. Monday was always the longest day of the week. She hopped off of her  _ fixie  _ and slowly opened the gate of the compound. 

 

Plutt’s car was parked in front of the bungalow, but his goons were nowhere to be found. After thanking her luck, she silently chained her bike near the back entrance of the house and took off her shoes. She peaked through the kitchen window and saw the TV in the living room was on. Looking further, she saw Plutt sat on his lazy boy with an empty bottle of beer in his hand.

 

She didn’t know if he was awake when she entered the house and silently closed the door behind her. She took long strides towards her bedroom and quickened her pace when she heard him grumbling.

 

_ Hopefully he really is asleep… Screw dinner! _

 

Once she was in the safety of her tiny room, she bolted her door shut. Rey leaned against it and released a shaky breath as she listened to any form of movement on the other side. But there was nothing, so she decided to get dressed for bed and do her homework.

 

Just as she was pulling her stained blouse over her head, three loud knocks came from her door. Rey’s pulse sped up. She looked at the bolted door with wide eyes and stopped her movements.

 

“ _ Girl,”  _ slurred Plutt.

 

Rey could feel the blood leaving her face. He continued to knock profusely on her door, which was followed by a loud  _ bang _ . Rey could only assume that Plutt had rested his head on it.

 

“ _ What have I said about being naughty?” _

 

The more Plutt spewed out his words, the more Rey couldn’t bring herself to move. Her eyes were trained on the door handle, waiting for it to juggle, turn, anything. But it didn’t.

 

_ “You’re going to make me pasta in the morning, understood? You won’t get a cent from me unless it’s perfection,” _

 

It wasn’t a strange request. Rey was tasked to cook almost every meal when she was at home. She held her breath until she realized she had to answer him. She hoped he wouldn’t ask her to open her door. She flinched at the thought.

 

“Yes,” Her voiced came out soft, weak. “I… I can do that. Tomorrow.”

 

She heard him grumble and gag in reply. His footsteps started to echo further and further away from the hallway and Rey breathed a sigh of relief.

 

She continued to get dressed and pulled out her books from her pack afterwards. She turned her lamp on and laid on her bed, elbows and chest down on the mattress, with her textbook sprawled in front of her. But as she started, she accidentally kicked her pillow at the head of her bed and a heavy metallic material came crashing down to the floor. Rey winced as she reached to grab a hold of it.

 

She gave herself a moment to really look at it. It was a heavy and cold wrench the size of her forearm from the garage. 

 

She glared at it with hatred in her eyes as she clutched it in her tiny hand and quickly tucked it back under her pillow.

 

Maker knows that she’ll need her handy wrench sooner or later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone who has been very supportive in me continuing this fic. I’m honestly on cloud-nine! Words can’t begin to describe how happy I am seeing that more than a handful have enjoyed this little world in my head.
> 
> I’m so excited to show you where I’ll take this story.
> 
> Comments will be greatly appreciated!   
> You can reach me on Twitter @loneamidala! :)


	3. Being Complicated

“Son, you gotta give that girl a break. She’s a good kid,”

 

Ben Solo was used to having breakfast alone. Growing up, he never really had a choice. So when his mother told him that his father was taking a short leave of absence from the force to work on a little project, he wasn’t entirely thrilled.

 

“I didn’t do anything wrong.” 

 

The lack of conviction in his voice seemed to rile up the older Solo even more. Han stood by the coffee maker as he waited for his pot to finish. He was in his working attire since he had been in the garage tinkering with the Falcon. Ben knew his father had been up for hours. But despite being quiet as a mouse, Han went straight to the kitchen when he thought he heard his son fixing himself something to eat.

 

“You didn’t do anything to stop it from getting out of hand, either.”

 

“Dad,” Ben said, as he finally looked at his father in the eyes. “It’s seven in the morning. I don’t understand why we have to talk about this now.”

 

“You didn’t bother coming down for dinner last night,”

 

“I didn’t realize we were even having dinner.” 

 

Anger came to him at a frightening pace. His knuckles started to pale at how hard he was gripping the island counter top in the middle of their kitchen. All his father could do was sigh at the sight of his son, since he knew that he was slowly losing his temper.

 

“Ben,” Han started. “Your mother and I love each other. We didn’t mean for you to come home in the middle of an argument–”

 

“Argument?” Ben was boiling. “I came home to Granpa Anakin’s vase shattering inches from my head–”

 

“–your mother never liked Vader’s vase anyways–”

 

“That’s besides the point! Why don’t you figure out your lives before you come home thinking that you can meddle in mine?”

 

The two men looked at each other with the intensity of a thousand suns under the Jakku Desert. Ben never liked arguing with his parents, since they argued with each other plenty. But over the years, he found it harder and harder to control himself. 

 

He knew that he didn’t hate his father, although he couldn’t bring himself to say that he loved him. 

 

After everything his father did to this family, how could he?

 

Han placed the bowl of cereal he was holding on the counter in between him and his son. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, a habit Ben was familiar with seeing when his father was disappointed.

 

“Look,” Han started. “I’m not going to pretend that I miracuously know how to be a proper father,”

 

Ben scoffed at this. He reached for the cereal and decided to dig in himself while his father continued.

 

“But please take my advice. Try to be friends with Rey, or at least try and build a healthier relationship with her. You two might even have a lot more in common than you think.”

 

Ben rolled his eyes. 

 

“Don’t give me that dramatic attitude. She’s a bright young girl who’s been through hardships you’re lucky you’ll never experience–”

 

_ You think I’m lucky to have you as a father? _

 

“–and she doesn’t deserve this… strain.”

 

“I told her I’d try to be civil.”

 

“ _ I’ll believe that when I see it, Benjamin.” _

 

His mother’s voice startled both the Solo men. She was in her morning robes, clearly just gotten out of bed, leaning by the entrance of their grand kitchen. Slowly, she walked over to her son and gave him a kiss on his cheek. She turned to her husband and her expression became somber.

 

“Han… I just got off the phone with Tallie. She and Qi’ra will be here in ten minutes.”

 

Ben didn’t bother looking at his father. As far as he knew, their conversation was over.

 

“Right,” Han said and looked at the bowl in Ben’s possession. “I’ll get breakfast after I drop her off at the Airport.”

 

With that, he took one big gulp of his morning coffee and strode over to Leia’s side. He gave her a kiss on her head and whispered a quick  _ thank you _ before leaving.

 

Leia sighed and held her son’s shoulders once Han was out the door.

 

“I’m sorry for last night,” she started. “We always tell you to keep your temper under control, yet your father and I can’t seem to practice what we preach.”

 

“Why is he here, Mom?” Ben asked impatiently.

 

“Son, your father took a leave from the force because–”

 

“No. I meant, why is he  _ here _ ?”

 

Leia looked at Ben with sadness in her eyes. She took Han’s unfinished coffee off the counter and drank from it. He could tell his mother was tired, from work or family matters, he wasn’t sure. 

 

He loved his mother. And he hated himself for leaving her when she needed him the most.

 

“Ben, your father and I love each other. I love him, that old scoundrel.”

 

He hated himself for not being enough for her, for not being enough for the both of them.

 

“I’ve forgiven him… maybe it’s time you should, too.”

 

But he didn’t hate himself for not forgiving his father. He didn’t believe he deserved it.

 

Ben narrowed his eyes and stared straight at his cereal. His appetite disappeared instantly and he felt bitter as his father’s coffee.

* * *

 

  
  


Poe Dameron was used to being the new kid in town. His father spent his entire childhood building his career in the air force, which forced him to uproot his family from Yavin IV and travel wherever the job needed him to go. He promised Poe that this was it, their final move, since he was about to be promoted as Captain in the near future.

 

It was a busy Tuesday morning in the halls of Hanna Prep. Poe stood in front of the cafeteria entrance and saw maybe ten men cleaning the ceiling of the hall all at once.

 

_ What disaster happened here? _

 

He’s been to a handful of schools in the past decade alone. He’s probably faced every cliche high school challenge there was. He was confident. Neither the magnificent castle that was Hanna Prep nor its hoity students fazed him at all.

 

The school bell brought him out of his thoughts and he realized that he was late for an eight a.m. meeting with Secretary Bazine. He scanned the school map in his hand and clutched his pack in the other. The principal’s office was just around the corner. Afraid of making a horrible first impression, he dashed towards the direction of the office.

 

_ “What the fuck!” _

 

“Holy shit!”

 

It was a poor decision on his part. When he rounded the corner, he collided with a tall, gangly ginger and landed on his ass while paper flew around him from every direction.

 

The ginger man was looking him dead in the eyes and Poe felt uneasy under his unforgiving gaze. 

 

_ “Oh man! That was sick, bruv!” _

 

High-pitched laughter caught the attention of the two men on the floor. It came from a tall and dark skinned fellow standing a few feet behind them. Students in the hallway, who were also rushing to their classes, looked at the two men but didn’t bother helping any of them up.

 

“Hux, can your day get any worse? Banned from formal and now a head on collision with– woah. Who are you?”

 

He didn’t understand what the man was talking about. Poe didn’t answer him  at first and focused on the name,  _ Hux.  _ A realization suddenly dawned on him.

 

_ “ _ I know you! You’re General Hux’s son.” He couldn’t stop himself from blurting out.

 

Armie scoffed and ignored him. He proceeded to pick up his notes off of the ground. Poe composed himself and decided to do the same when the man behind them came and helped.

 

“Thank you,” Poe said to the man. “I apologize, I was in a hurry.”

 

“We can tell, bruv.” He chuckled. “I’m Finn. The loser you bumped into is Armie.”

 

“Armitage,” Hux corrected. “And I’m not a loser, sod off.”

 

“My name’s Poe,” he said and extended his hand for a shake.

 

“Not interested–”

 

“Are you new around here?” Finn flashed him a big grin as he took his hand and helped him off of the floor.

 

“Yes, I just moved here from–”

 

“We’ll be late to class.” Hux said sternly. He started to stride forward and bumped Poe on the shoulder as he walked away.

 

“Ignore him. He constantly has a stick up his ass.” Fin chuckled and gave Poe the school map he dropped.

 

“Thanks again. I didn’t mean to cause trouble,”

 

“Don’t worry about it! Hey, I gotta go but catch us in the cafeteria at lunch, yeah?” 

 

Finn started jogging away from Poe before he could even reply.

 

Poe smiled to himself. It was easy for him to make friends. Despite the horrible collision, he was glad. He knew he wouldn’t be eating alone. He didn’t do well with isolation. No one does.

* * *

 

 

“I can’t believe you got me banned from the formal,”

 

“You did this to yourself, Armie, don’t even try to pin this on me.”

 

Rey was lucky to even be in school. That morning, while eating Rey’s pasta, Plutt didn’t bother bringing up Principal Blackwood’s call about the whole cafeteria fiasco.  She assumed that he was too hungover to care. Instead, he made Rey tune up his car during breakfast. 

 

Hungry and stressed, Rey ended up being thirty minutes late for her first period. Mrs. Luthor didn’t seem to mind at first, but she did give Rey a private lecture on the importance of punctuality right after class.

 

Second and third period flew by in a flash and Rey was able to ignore her growling stomach for the past few hours. She wasn’t in the mood for Armie’s pleasantries. Yet there they were, by her locker, and she was sure he was looking at her oil stained skirt in disgust.

 

“Honestly, Armitage, I don’t know why you’re crossed with me when you started the food fight in the first place.”

 

After slamming her locker, she turned towards the direction of the cafeteria, certain that Armie would follow.

 

“Besides,” she continued as they neared the entrance. “I didn’t think you would care.”

 

“I don’t.”

 

“Really, now?”

 

“I don’t, you little desert rat. I just didn’t want to start my day being hounded by Blackwood.”

 

Well, Rey didn’t want to start her day hungry. But she knew it wasn’t his fault that her life wasn’t sunshine and rainbows, despite studying beside a cliffside and beach.

 

“I heard you had a  _ smashing _ start to your day, Hux.”

 

Armie looked at Rey with a contorted face and all she could do was flash him a wide grin.

 

“I’d rather pull my teeth out one by one than ever see you try to be funny again, Rey.”

 

“What’s his name?”

 

“Pooh or something, I don’t know.”

 

“Was he hot?”

 

“No.”

 

By that time, Rey and Armie were sat at the group’s usual table. Rey saw Finn and Rose at the lunch line while Kaydel and Ben were in line to get fruit smoothies. She couldn’t help but study Ben while they were talking. Kaydel must have said something funny because he threw his head back in laughter. 

 

Something pulled in her chest at the sight and confusion settled on her face. She didn’t get it. Why was it so easy for Ben to be with other people except for her? Was her mere existence that much of a pain for him? 

 

She went back to facing Armie instead.

 

“We’ll be off the hook as long as we don’t get into any trouble,”

 

“That’s unlikely, Rey, and you know it.”

 

“It would help if you had a little faith in us.”

 

Armie unpacked his lunch. He pulled out a salad and an apple followed by a bottle of soda. Rey’s mouth watered at the sight of food. She was in too much of a hurry to get to school that she forgot to pack a simple sandwich. She accidentally left her wallet on her dresser, too. She eyed Armie’s apple that sat right beside his soda.

 

“Are you gonna eat that?”

 

“You’re asking me to hold on to false hope,”

 

“It’s not false hope. You heard him, we’re going to try and be civil... So, that apple–”

 

“I highly doubt that.”

 

“Well I don’t care. But I do care about that apple–”

 

“You remind him too much of his sister.”

 

This was a revelation. She didn’t know that Ben had a sibling. She thought he was an only child. For years, she never saw anyone around the house when she and Han would work in the garage.

 

“What sister?”

 

But before Armie had a chance to reply, Finn clapped him on the back, causing Armie to choke on his salad.

 

“Hey! Have any of you seen the new kid?”

 

“Not since– _ cough– _ he crashed into me, no.”

 

Rey internally groaned. She was frustrated. Hungry and frustrated. Ben had a sister?Was she sick? Did she go to a different school? Why would Han or Leia hide his sister away from the world? She placed her forehead on the table, intent on sleeping her lunch hour away, when she felt someone place something by her elbow.

 

“Here. You can have this.”

 

It was Ben. When she lifted her head up, she saw an apply by her side.

 

“Hey, that’s mine,” said Armie.

 

But Rey had already bit a chunk of it and ignored Armie’s protests. She looked at Ben in confusion but he didn’t look at her in return and only sat down beside her. It wasn’t uncommon for her to end up without food during their lunch hours. Finn and Rose would usually share their meals with Rey when it would happen, but never Ben.

 

Technically, the apple wasn’t his. But  _ still _ .

 

Rey’s thoughts and nerve to ask Ben why he was being nice was interrupted by Finn.

 

“Poe!” He was waving to a man by the entrance of the hall. “Over here!”

 

The man smiled in their direction and walked towards their table.

 

“Is that Pooh?” Rey whispered to Armie.

 

He ignored her and Finn shot her a funny look.

 

“Everyone, this is Poe. He just moved here from–uhh–I’m sorry, where are you from, mate?”

 

“Yavin IV. My father’s in the air force.”

 

“So is Armie and Ben’s,” exclaimed Rose. “Hi, I’m Rose!”

 

The group took turns in shaking Poe’s hand. He sat between Finn and Armie. He took out his packed sandwich and took a huge bite. Rey noticed that he was about the same height as Finn and his eyes were soulful. He seemed eager to be with them. Rey decided she found him dashing and that Armie must have terrible taste in men.

 

_ He must have, considering everyone knew he was low-key into Ben…  _

 

A silence fell on their table, and she noticed Poe was uncomfortable by it.

 

“So… is your cafeteria going through a major renovation or something? There were at least a dozen men scraping the walls here earlier.”

 

“No, actually. That was Rey and Ben’s fault,” said Rose.

 

“They started this massive food fight,” continued Kaydel, whipping her hands in all directions.

 

“Actually, it was Armie’s fault–” interjected Rey.

 

“Shut up.”

 

“–but Ben and I are the only ones who landed detention for a whole month.”

 

Poe laughed and gave Rey a sympathetic smile afterwards. “When does your sentence start?”

 

“Tomorrow,” Ben answered. “Apparently, the office couldn’t find a professor to supervise detention today. I guess they didn’t expect students to get into trouble so early in the term.”

 

Everyone on the table chuckled.

 

“I doubt detention will be too bad if you’re spending it as a couple,” Poe said with a mouth full of his sandwich.

 

Rey stopped her movements mid bite. Did she hear him correctly?

 

“If we’re spending it as a what now?”

 

“As a coup– ohh!” Poe stopped chewing and swallowed his food down. “Are you… not?”

 

Rey could feel her neck warm up. Then her jaw, then her cheeks, and finally her ears. This was embarrassing. She bit the insides of her cheeks and shook her head furiously. She didn’t even bother to look at Ben, who was sitting right beside her. He must hate this. He must hate her.

 

“Gaahh, I’m sorry. I thought–”

 

“Couldn’t be farther from reality, there,” Finn interrupted while he tried to hide his smile behind his drink. 

 

Everyone else was suffering from second hand embarrassment.

 

“So, Ben  _ Organa _ -Solo,” Poe smiled in his direction as he tried to change the topic. “I met your mother two years ago when she was visiting Yavin IV for a charity foundation. She was lovely.”

 

Ben gulped down some of his mango smoothie and smiled. Rey could see the flush slowly leaving his neck. “Yes, she is lovely.”

 

“She got me interested in politics. It’s a shame I didn’t get to meet you while you were there. I had the pleasure of meeting Captain Solo and General Hux, though.”

 

“I don’t believe I was with my parents at the time.”

 

“Oh… Well, speaking of Captain Solo, you know, my father’s taking over his position soon. The news of his retirement made us move here to Hanna City. He was his mentor as a young pilot.”

 

Ben stopped drinking his smoothie at Poe’s words and all eyes on the table landed on him.

 

“Whose retirement?”

 

“Your father’s! He– ahh…  _ Fuck me.  _ You didn’t know?”

 

Rey could see Ben’s left hand gripping the bench they were sharing, and he was gripping it harder and harder by the second, causing his knuckles to turn white.

 

Rey flinched at the idea of what Ben’s temper might cause him to do. She had this sudden urge to touch him, to keep him from doing anything stupid. But she didn’t.

 

He set his smoothie down and narrowed his eyes on the table. His face was expressionless.

 

“No… I didn’t.”

 

Poe just kept crashing into one cluster fuck after another.

 

“I’m sorry that the news had to come from me,” Poe looked even more uncomfortable now. But he quickly regained his composure. “It must be thrilling, then, to be able to hang out with Captain Solo more before we all head to university.”

 

A beat passed. And then another.

 

“Yeah… thrilling.”

 

The lack of emotion in Ben’s voice made everyone awkward (again) at this point. Rose decided to change the subject and asked Poe what kind of music he was into. The rest of lunch period carried on with getting to know the new kid more. 

 

Rey would sneak peeks towards Ben’s direction. He just continued to look at his smoothie and smiled whenever someone tried to include him in the conversation. 

 

By the end of lunch hour, Rey noticed that Ben didn’t finish his smoothie anymore, despite  it still being half full. After that apple, she was really in the mood for a drink just to try and fill her stomach a little more. Maybe she could grab it when Ben’s away and–

 

“Take it.” Ben’s voice knocked her out of her thoughts.

 

“What?”

 

“You look scrawnier than yesterday. Maker knows you need it.”

 

_ Rude! _

 

Rey was offended. But before she could tell him to sod off, he grabbed his pack and walked out the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank everyone who has been very supportive in me continuing this fic. I’m honestly on cloud-nine! Words can’t begin to describe how happy I am seeing that more than a handful have enjoyed this little world in my head.
> 
> I’m so excited to show you where I’ll take this story.
> 
> Comments will be greatly appreciated!   
> You can reach me on Twitter @loneamidala! :)


	4. Smoke on the Water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Detention day for Rey and Ben! 
> 
> Thank you so much for sticking around. This means so much to me.   
> The comments, kudos, and subs on this fic keep me going, both in writing and in life.  
> Will try to reply soon when I have the time.
> 
> Warnings:   
> ***Underaged smoking. I’ve recently been trying to stop smoking. It’s a terrible habit and I got hooked at when I was 17, when university was stressing me out to the point of depression.  
> ***Physical abuse. As I’ve said, I won’t be graphic about it. But the events leading to it will be. And I know I’m not a great writer, but I want to avoid triggering anyone.

“Like I said yesterday, no one in the faculty is available to supervise your detention.”

 

It was a windy day in Hanna City. The beach’s waves were crashing down hard and a slight fog was starting to creep its way into the city. Rain wasn’t forecasted to arrive, but the thick clouds were enough to block out any sunlight.

 

Ben and Rey sat in front of Mr. Blackwood in detention hall. He was sporting a three piece suit along with a dark colored scarf tucked around his neck.

 

“It’s the first week of this academic year’s second trimester. This has to be a new record for the both of you,”

 

The two students smirked. 

 

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

 

“Mr. Blackwood, are you going to supervise our detention today?” Rey asked as she clutched her small frame with both of her arms.

 

Wednesday started out sunny and warm. Plutt was away on another business trip and Rey was able to get through a peaceful morning without the smell of alcohol and vomit coming from the living room. 

 

Unlike yesterday, she was able to eat a full breakfast and lunch. She felt annoyed with how responsible she way for not bringing a jacket.

 

“No, Miss Doe, I will not be supervising your detention. My husband and I will be preoccupied with a meeting with the mayor in my office.”

 

“I don’t understand,” said Ben with confusion smack on his face. “How is this going to work then?”

 

Blackwood flashed them a smirk.

 

“This castle has cameras installed at every corner. The contents are easily at my disposal in my office. Should I see you or Miss Doe exit this room before five-thirty, there will be consequences.”

 

Rey gulped in return. She slowly raised her hand before Blackwood quickly followed up with,

 

“Oh, but you’re allowed to use the restrooms,” he said as he taped two fingers by his temple then pointed to the door. “I will know.”

 

He proceeded to walk outside the room and closed the door with a soft thud. Rey and Ben were left alone.

 

Rey looked out the window by her left and let out a soft sigh. 

 

_ Didn’t anyone else get into trouble today? _

 

Being alone with Ben made her uncomfortable. She didn’t know what was worse, verbally sparring with him or being in awkward silence with him. It stretched between them like the eerie fog that had made its way to Hanna Prep and Rey didn’t have an idea on how to remedy it. They were barely friends. 

 

She could bring up the incident with the apple, or even the leftover smoothie. But before she built up the nerve to strike up a conversation, Ben pulled out his History textbook and started reading. That’s when Rey remembered they had homework. She quickly pulled out her own textbook and turned to the page where she would find the reading material on The Northern War.

 

The minutes passed. 

 

She didn’t even notice that her teeth were chattering loudly by the time she got to the life and death of war criminal Darth Vader, who she knew was Ben’s maternal grandfather. It was weird for her to be studying Ben’s family on all levels, even for academic purposes.

 

The next thing she knew, a large and soft material was thrown to her face, which covered her head and almost half of her body. She was hit with the musky smell of  _ man _ .

 

“Can you please just put this on and stop _ shivering? _ ”

 

“You’re literally asking me to instantly stop being cold–” Rey’s muffled yell came from under Ben’s hoodie.

 

“No, I’m  _ helping  _ you to stop being cold so your teeth can stop making that noise!”

 

Rey took the massive hoodie off of her and studied it. It was a grey Yavin IV Air Force hoodie, which no doubt came from Han. Ben only huffed in return and made no move to take it back from Rey. He continued to read his textbook. She didn’t intend on thanking him.

 

“You are so rude! Would it have killed you to hand me the jacket nicely?” 

 

Under her blouse, goosebumps started to appear from the cold, despite the beginning of another one of their heated arguments. Rey quickly put it on without a second thought. She was suddenly surrounded by Ben’s scent and it was distracting her from reading about his family history.

 

_ Before Darth Vader was accused of betraying Naboo’s black ops, he was once Anakin Skywalker, a pilot in the Naboo Air Force. _

 

Strange to her, Ben’s scent was actually really… nice. Inviting, even.

 

_ He was married to President Padme Amidala, who later became the enabler of Skywalker’s betrayal. _

 

It was so deliciously thick that it made her head spin. 

 

_ While the accusations were unfounded, Anakin Skywalker fled Naboo after he allegedly assaulted President Amidala while she was pregnant with his child. _

 

It didn’t seem like a chemical smell from deodorants and body mists. It was almost natural.

 

_ President Amidala later gave birth to twins, who grew up to be Senator Leia Organa and General Luke Skywalker. _

 

She had certainly never smelled this in Plutt’s house, despite having multiple goons  looming over her shoulder, in and out on the daily.

 

_ Anakin Skywalker, now Darth Vader, was not able to meet his children since he was under the pretense that they died in childbirth. President Amidala herself circulated this false news, which enabled the witch hunt for her fallen husband. _

 

Had he always smelled this  _ good _ ?

 

_ She later founded Rogue One, an elite team of warriors that were able to capture and defeat Darth Vade– _

 

“Doe... are you  _ sniffing _ my hoodie?”

 

Rey’s eyes nearly bulged out of her sockets when Ben’s voice took her out of her spell. She regarded her posture for a moment and found that she was hunched in on herself while her hands clutched her neck. Her arms were hugging her mouth and her nose.

 

“ _ What? _ No! Don’t be ridiculous. My nose is a block of ice; I’m just heating it up,”

 

“That color on your neck is telling me you’re  _ quite _ warm, Doe,”

 

Another wave of embarrassment ran through her veins.

 

“Do you mind? I’m reading.”

 

Rey was pretty sure her blush reached her cheeks by that time and made no attempt to remove her arms from her face.

 

“Don’t bother. This textbook was written by a scholar who doesn’t regard both my grandparents as war heroes. It’s a load of horse shit.”

 

Rey turned her head slightly and stared at Ben with a confused look. She blinked a couple of times, softly chewed on her lips, and thought of what he said.

 

“Your grandfather was hardly a hero, Ben,” she said carefully.

 

“People tend to forget that Vader destroyed the fleet of airships that were sent to annihilate the City of Naboo,”

 

“He killed off a group of ethnic minorities on the coast of Chandrila to reclaim their land–”

 

“He ended the war.”

 

“He bombed the Naboo Air Force training grounds, murdering hundreds of cadets in training–”

 

“He was redeemed.”

 

Rey studied Ben’s sulking form and decided she should stop arguing, despite disagreeing with him. In truth, Ben would know more about his family history than any scholar out there.

 

“Is this part true?” Rey raised her book towards Ben and pointed to the section under Vader’s death. “Did your grandmother… kill him?”

 

“No. She didn’t, nor did Rogue One. Vader sacrificed himself to destroy the Empire air fleet,” he narrowed his eyes and closed the textbook in front of him. “He saved my grandmother doing it.”

 

Rey looked at Ben with heavy, sad eyes. Ben’s family had always been nice to her, but to the rest of the world, his family was the topic of political scandal and was constantly associated with warfare. She thought it mustn't have been easy growing up in their shadow, to constantly question his heritage.

 

“It’s not always good to know who your family is,”

 

Rey was taken aback with what she heard. Her brows crinkled at the sentiment.

 

“Ben, you can’t mean that–”

 

“I only meant that our history is fucked up and sometimes… I wish things weren’t complicated.”

 

Rey started to wonder whether he was talking about his grandparents or Han and Leia.

 

This had to be the longest conversation the pair had gone without verbal carnage. At this thought, Rey smiled to herself. She slowly closed the book and packed it back in her bag.

 

“Aren’t you cold? Do you want your hoodie back?”

 

Ben turned to look at her. He seemed to he examine her from head to toe, and Rey grew shy under his intense gaze. Honestly, she thought this man had the most intense eyes she’s ever seen. It was unlike Han’s playful stares and Leia’s soft ones. And yet, she could still see them in him.

 

“No, keep it.”

 

“But you might get sick from the–”

 

“My body runs warm. You look like you’ll need it more going home too.”

 

“I’m not as defenseless as you make me out to be, Solo.” Rey bit back. “Not everyone can be a massive giant that radiates heat while towering over people.”

 

Ben faced her again with a comical expression on his face. 

 

“You think I’m massive giant?”

 

“Stop looking at me like that!”

 

“Afraid I’ll catch you sniffing my hoodie again?”

 

“I was not sniffing your fucking hoodie,”

 

“Okay, I believe you.” Ben’s tone was sarcastic and Rey debated with herself whether she should hurl her pencil case at Ben’s face to wipe the smirk off of his face.

 

“Why didn’t you bring a jacket to school, anyway? Don’t you ride a bike coming here?”

 

“I only ever had one jacket and I gave it to Finn when we were kids.” Her voice sounded meek even to her own ears. “I guess I never thought I’d need one in a city beside the beach.”

 

“Didn’t he have his own?”

 

“Orphans don’t really have much, you know.”

 

The hints of amusement from Ben’s part went away.

 

“I’m sorry,” he said as he turned to face Rey on his left. He spread his legs wide from out of his desk and rested his elbows on his knees while he hunched his back. “I didn’t mean to be rude.”

 

“You’re always rude, Solo,” interrupted Rey with a cheeky smile on her face. Ben only snorted once more.

 

“You must think I’m some sort of pretentious prince–”

 

“–I’ve said that a couple of times, but I never called you a  _ prince _ –”

 

“–but a life with my parents isn’t something you want, trust me.”

 

“You’re the last person who would know what I want.”

 

She didn’t mean for it to come out as a ferocious bite. Ben looked like he was searching for something in Rey’s eyes. His arms were still resting on his knees while Rey’s right hand gripped the side of her desk. She didn’t want to look away. It almost felt as if Ben’s eye were daring her to look away, but she couldn’t. 

He worked his jaw. “That’s true.”

 

The pair was suddenly caught in awkward silence once again. Rey was at a loss for words. She decided to look outside the window, only to be greeted by thick fog. She saw the branches of the nearby trees from the castle gardens, its leave blowing in different directions all at once. But other than that, nothing else. 

 

Ben broke the silence first.

 

“So what do you want?”

 

Rey quickly turned back to face him. She tilted her head to her right and scrunched up her brows. No one has ever asked her that question before. No one really cared. Besides being away from Plutt, or wanting to know who her family was, she didn’t actually know the answer.

 

Suddenly, the Coruscant University pamphlet pinned on the bulletin board by the door caught her eye.

 

“I… want to be an engineer.”

 

“Funny, I always thought you wanted to be a mechanic.”

 

“Did Han tell you that?”

 

“No.”

 

Rey let out a chuckle at the thought of Han. She really did miss him.

 

“He always said I would do well as a professional mechanic, maybe because I end up fixing his machines before he does–”

 

“I asked  _ you _ what you wanted, not what my father wanted for you.” 

 

Rey flinched at Ben’s harsh tone. She looked at him with wide eyes but didn’t dare say anything else. A man’s booming voice was never a good sign for her. It frightened her. She saw Ben let out a frustrated sigh as he sat straighter.

 

“I’m sorry. Apparently I’m only good at being rude to you.”

 

Rey didn’t realize she had a pained expression on her face. It’s true that Han was the closest thing to a father that she had ever known. She started to think if Ben felt the same way or not.

 

“You don’t like your father,” she said it more as a statement than a question.

 

Avoiding her gaze, Ben merely replied with, “We’re not close.”

 

“He wants to be. I’m sure you know that.”

 

“As I’ve said, it’s complicated.”

 

She was itching to ask him if what Armie said was true, that she reminded him of his  secret sister. But she felt like it wasn’t her place to ask… yet.

 

“And you?” Rey faced him, eager to keep the conversation going.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“What do you want?”

 

Ben tried to keep the expression on his face neutral, but he seemed to fail. He didn’t answer Rey; he just kept staring at her. He looked  _ terrified _ .

 

Rey felt ridiculous. She was trying her best to make a connection with a man that kept putting her in uncomfortable and awkward situations. She started to sit properly on her desk when a moment passed and he still didn’t answer her. Her body was then facing the front of the room when,

 

“I want to fly,” Ben suddenly blurted out.

 

Rey faced him again then tilted her head to the side in confusion. Her brow raised on its own accord. She must have started chewing on her lower lip again, something she did when she was nervous, because Ben shifted his stare from her eyes to her mouth.

 

“A pilot, I mean. I want to be a pilot.” He gave her an awkward half-smile.

 

“Oh... I guess the urge runs in your blood?”

 

“Yes, but I wish it didn’t.” Ben went back to looking at the floor under his feet. “My family… they think I take up after my grandfather.”

 

“That can’t be such a horrible thing. Minutes ago, you were praising him as a hero.”

 

“I was,” he narrowed his eyes. “But he still did terrible things... My grandmother said I remind her of him.”

 

“How?”

 

He took his stare from the floor, but instead of looking directly at Rey, he gazed at the window behind her head.

 

“Through my anger, my… outbursts. My complete inability to remain calm. It’s– It’s everything about me, apparently.”

 

“Funny, I thought those qualities of yours were reserved only for me.”

 

At this point, Ben stood up and Rey thought it was out of frustration. He walked towards the desk and placed his hands on it, effectively leaning on it. A few moments passed before he spoke again.

 

“Sometimes they look at me with faces– worried faces.” His voice was becoming softer and softer; Rey was surprised she could still hear him from where she sat. “Expectations that I– They always think of the worst of me, the worst  _ in _ me. It’s… maddening.”

 

The sound of Ben’s heavy breaths filled the room. Rey was even more confused than before. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? To make a connection with Ben? So why did she feel like she was the wrong person he should be talking to?

 

She couldn’t begin to understand what Ben must feel. It was mind boggling. He was surrounded by family, constantly. He had a whole family, a whole bunch of people who cared for him. This was something Rey has always wanted ever since she could remember. And yet...

 

He looked miserable. He  _ was  _ miserable. 

 

Rey stood up and slowly went to the window. She pried one of the frames open, which let in a big gust of cold air. She shivered but continued her actions. 

 

Ben turned before he felt the wind hit his body. He saw Rey struggling to get the window open. 

 

“What are you doing? You look way too small to be doing that.”

 

“I’ll have you know, I’m actually tall compared to the average woman. Now shut up and help me with this,”

 

He took a couple of long strides towards her. “Is being with me so terrible that you’d rather jump out of this window?” He pushed the frame harder with her.

 

With a smirk on her face, she said, “Definitely.”

 

He stopped pushing.

 

“I’m kidding! I just thought you need this,”

 

“Hypothermia?”

 

“No!” With one final push, they finally opened the window together. “This,”

 

She recalled her hand from the cold window frame and reached for the side pocket of her skirt. Ben was just staring at her with a scrunched up face,

 

“Doe, I don’t think smoking a joint right now is a good–”

 

Her hand resurfaced with a pack of cigarettes.

 

“Oh.”

 

Rey couldn’t help but make a smug face. With a lighter in one hand, she took one stick and handed the pack to Ben. He took one without a word.

 

They smoked in silence. The cold air continued to creep inside the room, but Rey didn’t mind. She hoped Ben didn’t, too. She would sneak glances at Ben from time to time. He was taking his puffs in deep. His eyes were fixated on something outside the window, but she didn’t bother finding out what.

 

“The fog’s too thick for anyone out there to see us,” said Rey. “I think we’re good.”

 

“I know–”

 

“I’m sorry,” Rey suddenly blurted out. It was Ben’s turn to be caught off guard. He faced her, took a deep swig, and waited.

 

“I don’t understand– I mean, I don’t know why you’re…  _ Ugh _ .” Rey let out a puff of smoke in frustration.

 

“I’ve never had that problem. With your family, I mean… I don’t have one.”

 

Ben looked at her with soft eyes while she was babbling. And she stared back at him when she was done. “I don’t expect anything from you, Doe.”

 

Rey kept her lips in a tight line. The silence between them wasn’t awkward anymore. It felt right. It felt… warm. Before she knew it, their sticks were almost gone and the sound of the school bell filled the halls. Their time in detention was up.

 

——————————————————————————————

 

“That wasn’t so bad.”

 

“I didn’t know I was capable of tolerating you until now.”

 

Ben gave her a pointed look.

 

After leaving detention hall, they passed by Principal Blackwood’s office to let Bazine know they were leaving. Blackwood and his husband were still in a meeting with the mayor.

 

“Hey, didn’t Thomas Balon work for Leia?”

 

“Yes. He was Mom’s Chief of Staff.”

 

“Why did he leave?”

 

They were making their way to the school parking lot. Rey could tell the school’s exit doors were open. The air became colder and colder with each step she took, despite still wearing Ben’s hoodie.

 

“I don’t know. I just know it was sudden… It took her weeks to find a replacement.”

 

Rey couldn’t help but hug herself as they stepped outside. Ben’s pickup truck was parked near the school’s exit while Rey’s bike was parked all the way on the other side.

 

They passed his truck, but he was still following her.

 

“Ben, what are you–”

 

“I can drop you off at your place. That bike’s a death trap in this weather,”

 

“Don’t insult my Fixie. And you don’t have to do that,” Rey said as she took the keys of her chain from her pack. “I can take care of myself.”

 

“I know you can,”

 

Rey didn’t wait for him to leave as she unlocked her chain.

 

“Hey! What the fuck, can you–”

 

“Come on,”

 

“Put my bike down! I said, no, you jackass–”

 

“Can you just let me be a decent person? Just this once?”

 

“I said, no!”

 

They were like two children, standing in the middle of the lot having a stare-off contest. Ben was still gripping Rey’s bike that was hoisted over his right shoulder. He didn’t make a move to put it down.

 

“Doe, you are the most stubborn person I know. And I’m my father’s son!”

 

“Well, you’re the most arrogant. Now put it down, I’m so late for work. Plutt’s going to kill me,”

 

“You’d get there quicker with me,”

 

Rey’s face softened a little and switched to projecting fear in remembering that she had to be at work right at that second. She could feel the blood leave her face and her surroundings swallowing her whole.

 

“Besides,” Ben’s voice brought her back to the ground, bike still on his shoulder. “Mom would kill me if she found out I didn’t give you a ride in this weather.”

 

Rey gave in but said nothing as she followed Ben to his truck. The thought of spending more time with him than needed… wasn’t so bad anymore.

 

They drove in silence. Rey kept her eyes out the window. She knew she would get car sick if she did anything but. Ben didn’t seem to mind the quiet, which she appreciated. He lighted another cigarette when they were halfway to the junkyard. She refused his offer to join him and placed his pack back in the glove compartment. That’s when she made the mistake of looking at him.

 

His cigarette was in between the fingers of his left hand, which was resting on the steering wheel. His right was gripping the gear stick, which was close to touching her thigh. 

 

_ He was right _ , she thought,  _ his body does run warm _ … She could feel the heat from his hand through her stockings.

 

She felt the same heat rush to her face as she quickly turned to stare out the window again before Ben would notice her staring at him.

 

She didn’t dare look at him again. Sooner than she thought, the gates of the junkyard were in sight.

 

Ben waited for her to finish chaining her bike to her usual post before he went back to his truck. He didn’t even give her the chance to thank him or return his hoodie. After she dropped her keys by the kitchen table, she peeked outside the window to see his truck leaving the yard.

 

She didn’t try to stop the smile that crept on her face. That smile quickly faded away when she heard Plutt grumble behind her. She turned to him, only to be faced with the mild smell of whiskey and smoke in his wake.

 

Her heartbeat sped up as Plutt took fast strides to where she stood. He stopped in front of her, and Rey quickly shut her eyes and flinched. She heard Plutt reach for a bundle of papers from the counter behind her and shoved it to her chest.

 

“Where the  _ fuck _ were you?” Plutt bellowed.

 

“I was in detention, I couldn’t leave–”

 

“ _ What _ have I told you about being naughty?”

 

Rey gripped the papers and positioned it over her head. She tried to put distance between herself and Plutt’s yells but the kitchen counter stopped her tracks.

 

“Three suppliers! Delayed!” 

 

Rey was confused. He was hysterically waving his hands in the air at this point. She finally opened her eyes and looked at the papers she was holding. They were documents covered in red stamps. Realization dawned onto Rey; she wasn't here to receive the supply shipments this afternoon.

 

She looked at him with worry in her eyes. He was heavily breathing down on her. Her hands were shaking as he tried to hand the papers back to him. He snatched them from her grasp. He turned his back to her and started walking back to the living room.

 

“Go to the garage. The Ranger needs an oil change.”

 

Rey was still in shock, but she managed to leave her bag on the kitchen floor and flee to the garage. 

 

Sanctuary. She felt like she had sanctuary as she closed the garage doors. She turned the lights on and quickly began working on Plutt’s Ranger. 

 

Her heart was returning to its normal beat as she raised the hood over her head. She could finally see straight. She pulled the metal rod from the Ranger and was surprised to see the lack of gunk on the stick. The oil was brown and slick, which wasn’t what she expected from a car that needed an oil change. Confused, she set the rod back in its place.

 

Rey froze when she heard the sound of the garage lock click. She was too busy focusing on her breathing to notice that Plutt was behind her.

 

He was taller than her, much wider than her. And he was blocking the only exit of the room they were in. She found her courage and found her voice.

 

“The Ranger’s oil looks fine–”

 

“My father prefered belt buckles… My mother used hangers,” Rey didn’t understand what he was saying despite the man not slurring his words. She gulped and tried her best to focus.

 

“I was naughty like you.” He pulled out a wrench from a nearby toolbox. “They said they were helping me. They said they would build me.”

 

He was stepping closer to her with each word. Rey was trapped. She was gripping the Ranger from behind her. She understood now. He stopped a feet in front of her. She shut her eyes. She knew what was coming.

 

“Maybe this will build you.”

————————————————————————————-

 

Ben was in his truck, parked in their garage, when Han found him staring at nothing. He caught his father’s eye and quickly went out the driver’s seat. He pressed the button on his keys and his car beeped twice.

 

He saw his father’s face scrunch up as he passed him and made his way to the kitchen. Han was still looking at him oddly as he grabbed a glass of water.

 

“ _ What, _ ” Ben asked, annoyed, and took a sip from his glass.

 

“Nothing– uhh… I had hoped that Rey would quit smoking.”

 

Ben’s eyes went wide and water went down his throat the wrong way. He started coughing uncontrollably and pumped his chest with his fist.

 

“She–  _ cough–  _ we didn’t– _ cough, cough! _ ”

 

“Hey, hey,” Han said with raised hands. “Your mother doesn’t need to know.”

 

“I’m 19. It’s not a big deal.”

 

“And Rey’s only 17. You shouldn’t be encouraging her,” Han said sternly.

 

Ben threw his father a pointed look and said, “She can do whatever she wants. And  _ she  _ was the one encouraging  _ me _ .”

 

“That sounds like Rey.”

 

Ben rolled his eyes and was going to reply when his mother came through the kitchen entrance with a full paper bag in each hand.

 

“What sounds like Rey?”

 

“ _ Uhhh _ –”

 

“That she was stubborn enough to refuse a ride home with me,” Ben quickly interjected. He suddenly grew annoyed with himself with the realization that he didn’t want his mother to be disappointed in him.

 

“Oh,” Leia said and placed the bags on the counter. “That does sound like her. Benjamin, did you let her take her bike home in this–”

 

“I didn’t! I gave the brat a ride.”

 

It was Leia’s turn to give her son a pointed look. She turned her back to Han and Ben, and the two Solo men shared a knowing look. Taking his mother’s silence as his que to leave, he placed his empty glass in the sink and made his way to the stairs.

 

Without looking up from the counter, Leia said, “Benjamin, please take a shower. I do not appreciate the smell of cigarettes in the house.”

 

Ben stopped in his tracks, turned around, and faced both his parents. His father gave him a sympathetic look while his mother glared at him. He hung his shoulders and said, 

 

“Yes, Mom.” He felt like a child.

 

“Son, did you notice if Plutt was at the yard?” Han quipped.

 

“Rey’s guardian? His truck wasn’t out front.”

 

Han grumbled in return. “That old slimeball. Saw him buying a couple of beers and whiskey at the store a few nights ago. Someone like him really shouldn’t be  _ anyone’s  _ guardian.”

 

“Han, you worry too much.” Leia placed a hand on her husband’s shoulder. “I’m sure Rey’s fine, dear. She’s a tough girl.” 

 

“Yeah,” Ben whispered mostly to himself. “She is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, I’m bringing back the gang. It might be fairly short compared to this one, but only because I plan to make the 6th chapter longer.
> 
> The Rey pain train begins. Expect more interactions and self-pity.  
> Hit me up at the comments or on Twitter if you have any questions.  
> Again, thank you so much for sticking around!

**Author's Note:**

> Following chapters will have less and less notes; I promise.
> 
> This is my first try at writing anything substantial, so your comments would be highly appreciated. Please point out any mistakes I’ve made since my Beta is busy with work. (But if you think this fic is beyond hope and repair, please spare me the gut wrenching details about your hatred for it and move along.) 
> 
> Feel free to ask me anything about the characters and if you’re curious to know where I plan to take this fic.
> 
> I got into Reylo about a year ago, but what I mostly look for in a fic are character dynamics and complicated relationships, so hopefully I can share with you my vision for our favorite protagonists and antagonists. 
> 
> If you wanna be my mutual on social media, you can reach me @loneamidala! :)


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